Those Left Behind
by Red Witch
Summary: After 'XTreme Measures', as Storm struggles with Evan's departure, Ray struggles with his own past with the Morlocks.


**I don't own any X-Men Evolution characters. I just had these thoughts in my head and I needed to get them out, as sad as they are. But I thought it was time I played around with some characters that haven't had much screen time. Also I had a thought about Ray and his connection with the Morlocks. **

**Those Left Behind**

"Did you find him?" Jean asked the others. They had been searching the labyrinthine tunnels of the sewers for Evan. 

"Nothing," Ray shook his head. "Any of you guys see anything?"

"Nein," Kurt shook his head. "We've been looking nearly all day and nothing."

"Maybe Storm had better luck," Scott sighed. "These tunnels are endless!" 

"Maybe we should try…" Jean started to suggest when she saw Ororo appear. "Storm! Did you find…Storm?"

Ororo looked miserable. She looked as if she had just experienced a huge loss in her life. "Let's go," She said softly her eyes downcast.

"But what about Evan?" Kurt asked. "Don't you…?"

"Evan doesn't want to be found," She choked on the words. She numbly walked away to the Blackbird. 

"But…" Kurt asked. Scott stopped him by putting his hand on his shoulder and shook his head. Dejectedly the X-Men returned to the mansion. 

When they returned Ororo went straight to her room. She didn't come out for hours. Finally Xavier went to her room. "Ororo?" He knocked on it. "Please, talk to me. I want to help."

"There's nothing you can do Charles," She said dejectedly. 

"I can listen," He said. "I've talked to the police and showed them the proof that it wasn't Evan's fault his powers went out of control. They've had the charges dropped."

"Oh yeah that just makes everything all better doesn't it?" Ororo snapped as she opened the door. 

"Storm, please," Xavier pleaded. "I want to help." 

"Help? Help? Why didn't you help him before? No…why didn't I help him before? I knew he was having problems, but why did he just shut me out? Why couldn't he confide in me? What did I do to make him feel that he couldn't talk to me? I don't know what happened? What did I do Charles? What did I do wrong?" She sat on the bed and put her head in her hands. 

"I was hoping things would get better now that the mansion was rebuilt," Xavier sighed as he followed her in. "It was hard enough losing some of the newer students, but Evan…" 

"Losing him?" Ororo snapped. "There was a time when you couldn't wait to get rid of him? Remember?"

"That's not true and you know it! I just thought he was having problems adjusting and he needed parental supervision. I thought…" 

"You thought you could just send him away and all your problems would be over!" She shouted. "Maybe that's why he felt he couldn't come to me! Maybe he thought I'd send him away! Maybe that's why he left, because somehow I made him feel he wasn't good enough to stay here or something!"

"Ororo that is not true!" 

"And now he's out there! Alone! What am I going to tell his mother Charles?" Ororo yelled her voice rising higher. "She's already called and left three messages after hearing about it on the news! What am I going to say? 'Vi your son is gone. His mutation is out of control and he was nearly poisoned. That's what caused him to trash the Skate Park. That's why the police are after him. He's now living with a group of mutants in a sewer.' In a sewer Charles!" 

Ray slunk off out of the shadows where he had been hiding. He didn't want to hear any more. Ororo's words hurt him to the core. He went to the living room where all the other students were gathered. Everyone was shocked that Evan now was no longer among them.

"How is she?" Scott asked Ray.

"Not good," Ray grumbled. "She's really taking it hard. Even blaming the Professor as well as herself. Personally I think she's out of line. Not Xavier's fault or hers if Daniels couldn't cut it." 

"Hey!" Roberto snapped. "Back off man! You shouldn't mouth off like that!" 

"Well it's true!" Ray snapped. "Hey let's face it, none of us were exactly his closest friends now right?" 

"Not without trying!" Kurt said. "He just kept…pushing us away." 

"Why did he keep pushing us away?" Scott asked. "We're still his friends. Why didn't he come to us?" 

"Maybe he didn't want to come to us," Rogue shrugged. "Maybe he just wanted to deal with this himself. I can understand what he's going through. But still…to run off and hide in a sewer…" 

"In a sewer," Ray spat. "That's the real reason Jubilee and Rahnee left you know. Not just because we were attacked, but that they were dragged into a filthy sewer to hide like animals!" 

"That's not…" Jean started to say.

"Don't say that's not true because we all know it is!" Ray shouted. "They couldn't bear to think that their kids were around unwashed, unclean freaks even if they are mutants too! And if any of your folks find out about this how much you want to bet that they'll take all of you out of here too?" 

"They wouldn't really do that," Jamie said. "Would they?" 

"My parents wanted to take me out too," Kitty said softly. "But I convinced them that I really wanted to stay here. I felt safer with you guys. I guess they understood. But if something really bad happened…I dunno."

"I'm not really that worried," Tabitha shrugged. "Not really much of a home for me to go back to anyway. And I know Rogue and Scott are in the same boat." 

"Thank god there's no TV where I'm from," Amara sighed. 

The others weren't so sure. "What if they do take us away from here?" Bobby was speaking more to himself than the others. "What if they hear about what Evan did and decide that they'd better get us out or we'd be next or something?" 

"What if the kids at school find out?" Roberto asked.

"Hello! It was on the news!" Jamie rolled his eyes. "Of course they'll find out!"

"But it wasn't his fault!" Amara said. "I heard the Professor talking to the cops. He showed them the proof! He's even going to talk to that Spears guy tomorrow about it. So Evan's in the clear." 

"It doesn't matter," Ray said bitterly. "All they'll care about is that one of us trashed the place and now he's gone. I can just hear them now, 'Did you hear about what one of those Institute freaks did this weekend?' It'll be all over school. Most of 'em will be celebrating that another mutant's gone. And then they're gonna wonder when we're gonna do something like that. Not if we do it…when."

There was silence, for they all knew he was right. None of them were looking forward to going to school on Monday. "I'll bet Kelly will be celebrating," Tabitha grumbled. 

"He was already on TV," Bobby said. "Talking about what a lousy student Evan was and how he shouldn't have been allowed near the competition in the first place." 

"God I hate that guy!" Tabitha snapped. "He's such a jerk!" 

"Nobody better say anything about where Evan is!" Ray warned. "They'll really go at us if they find out! They'll make comments like that a sewer is the only place where a disgusting mutant belongs!" He kicked a nearby chair. 

"Ray calm down," Scott told him. "No one will think…"

"Oh cut the bull Scott!" Ray snapped. "His own aunt thinks like that! What makes you think that norms will be any different!" 

Some of the students looked at each other. They realized that Ray was not handling it like they thought he would. "You seem to take this kind of personally ain't ya Ray?" Tabitha asked.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ray snapped. 

"You were a Morlock weren't you?" Tabitha asked. "That's how you knew where to go when the cops were chasing us." 

Ray looked at the surprised faces around him. _Well it's not like I could keep it a secret forever. Can't tell them everything,_ Ray thought as he debated what to say. "Yeah. Yeah I was."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Roberto asked. 

"Tell you what?" Ray glared at him. "That my own family kicked me out and I was homeless? That I had to live on the streets to survive and I managed to find the Morlocks who took me in?"

"So how did you end up with the X-Men?" Tabitha asked.

"Simple, unlike the others I could pass as human," Ray shrugged. "I went topside a lot stealing stuff. You know, food, clothes, and things we needed. Well I tried to steal Logan's wallet and I freaked when he tried to stop me. Used my powers. Showed me he was a mutant too and convinced me to check this place out. The rest is history." 

"But why did they act like they didn't know you?" Tabitha asked.

"I guess cause they were ashamed of me or something," Ray shrugged. "I was ashamed to be one of them. I know it's wrong of me to say that but that's how I felt." 

"Why didn't you tell us?" Scott asked. "I mean all we knew is that you showed up pretty much the same time we were recruiting some of the others."

"Because I didn't want you to know," Ray growled. "I didn't want any of you looking at me with any pity or anything! Like I was some poor charity case or something! And like I said…I was ashamed of how I felt. I'm out of here," He stormed off.

"Ray wait!" Tabitha started to go after him.

"Easy Tabitha," Scott put a hand on her shoulder. "He just needs some space right now." 

"Yeah just give the boy time to settle down," Rogue told her.

Xavier came in with Ororo. "Students, I'm afraid I have some distressing news about Evan."

"We know," Scott said. "He's not coming back." 

"Ray heard everything," Jamie said. "He's pretty upset." 

"Upset?" Ororo asked. "Why?" 

"Professor, you did know Ray was a Morlock, right?" Kurt asked.

"I suspected as much," Xavier sighed. "But he didn't want to talk about his past, so I left it alone." 

"I didn't know that," Ororo said.

"I think he overheard you saying something," Tabitha said. "Really touched a nerve."

"I'll go speak with the boy," Xavier sighed.

"No I will," Ororo said going upstairs. 

Ray lay there on his bed, staring at the ceiling. _Well its not like I lied, _Ray rationalized. _I just left out the part of Callisto ordering me to check out the X-Men to see if we could make allies out of them. And the part of me deciding not to go back for good. And the part where she thinks I'll still come back once I have this desire for normalcy out of my system. _

There was a knock at the door. "Ray are you in there?" It was Ororo.

"Come on in," Ray muttered. "If you can stand being with a freak from the sewers." The words came out of his mouth before he realized what he said. He looked at Ororo's horrified expression." 

"Ray I'm sorry," Ororo said. "I didn't mean it like that…I just…" 

"No, I'm sorry," Ray sighed. "I wasn't thinking. I just…"

"You were just saying what you feel," Ororo told him. "I was the one who wasn't thinking. I never intended to hurt your feelings or make you feel ashamed about your past. No one here does." 

"Hey it's okay," Ray held up his hands. "I mean you're just freaked about Evan. I understand. I just wish my family cared as much about me as you do about him. He's gonna be okay. Don't worry about it. It's not like he's a prisoner or anything. He'll come back. He just needs like a time out, that's all." 

"Time out from what?" Ororo asked. "I don't understand! Is it because of the trouble he's having at school?" 

"Yeah that's part of it. Look things are just…hard," Ray said. "You have no idea how they treat us at school. It's awful. I'm amazed no one has seriously hurt any of us yet. Too afraid of us I guess." 

"Ray I know things are difficult…" Ororo started to say.

"Difficult? That's the understatement of the year! You don't have to go to a place every day where people purposely try to make you feel like dirt," Ray said vehemently. "You have no idea what our lives are like at school. People are always staring at you like you're a monster. The polite ones don't say anything at all to you. But a lot of them aren't so polite!" 

"Ray I…" Ororo started again. 

"A lot of them have been pulling stupid pranks or shoving us around in hopes that we'll lose control and get kicked out of school!" Ray went on. "Like the one they did with Evan the other day."

"What? What happened?"

"It was really stupid. They just made a cut out of a skateboarder with spikes on it and hid it in his locker. But that wasn't the worst of it, some dweeb decided to use Evan to fight off some Jocks for him. Evan got mad and used his powers when they tried to beat him up!"

"Doesn't the teachers know about these things?"

"Are you kidding? Half of them are glad what the students are doing! Even they treat us differently. They either don't call on us in class or they snap at us for every little thing. Why do you think the kids have been getting a lot of detentions lately? They're just doing everything they can to drive us out! I don't know why any of us puts up with it! I really don't! I don't know why we just don't up and leave! They don't want us there! We don't want to be there so why do we have to go there?" 

"So maybe one day other people like us won't have to go through what you are doing," She said. 

"As good as that sounds…right now I'm not so sure if that day will ever come," Ray sighed. "Look it's just hard on us right now! And don't say you understand because you don't! Okay?" 

Ororo sat down next to him. "You know I grew up in Africa?" She said. "When I was a child…before my powers emerged, I was considered strange. An outcast because my hair was white. Many of the children thought I was unlucky or cursed so they wouldn't play with me unless it was a certain game. It was like tag, but played with sticks. You were only supposed to tap the person with them…but they seemed to take great delight with hurting me with them."

Ray looked at her in surprise. "One time it became more vicious than others," She went on, as if drawn into the memory. "The sticks started to cut into my skin. I begged and pleaded for them to stop. But that only succeeded in them hitting me even harder. All I wanted for them was to stop. And the next thing I knew… it was hailing."

Ororo's face darkened. "I knew somehow I was responsible. And I was glad. I wanted them to feel the same pain they made me feel. When the tribe learned what I could do…they began to worship me as a goddess. At the time I felt like one…but as the years passed…I realized that I was the one being used, so I left. So you see Ray, I do know something about what you are going through."

"Wow…I…I didn't know," Ray shifted uncomfortably. "Did you ever tell Evan that story?"

"No," She sighed. "Maybe I should have."

"Well…you can tell him when he comes back," Ray told her. "I'm sorry I was angry at you."

"I'm sorry I made you angry at me," Ororo got up. "If you ever want to talk, I'm here to listen. We all are." 

"Thanks," Ray said softly. "I will…"

"You're welcome," Ororo smiled. Then she sighed. "I just wish I made it clearer to Evan that he could too."

"He'll come around," Ray said. "Once he realizes he can't skate much down there. He loves the sport too much to give it up." 

"He does doesn't he?" Ororo gave a slight smile. "Now I just have to figure out what I'm going to say to his mother. She's not going to be thrilled with me."

"You don't have to tell her…everything," Ray shrugged. "Just say he's staying with some friends for a while."

"I can't lie to my sister like that," Ororo told him. "Although I do appreciate your suggestion." 

"Well, if you ever need to talk," Ray shrugged. "I'll listen. Really."

"Thank you," Ororo smiled. She walked out of the room. 

She began to think to herself. _I may have failed with Evan, but I can't stop trying to help the other children. There's just too much at stake. I can't let any one of them down again. I won't let any one of them down again. _

She looked out a window and sighed. _I just wish I could tell Evan that. I'm sorry I failed you Evan. I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you. But when you come home, it will be the first thing I'll tell you. I promise. _

Back in his room Ray shook his head. _It may not be pretty underground, _He thought. _But a lot of mutants find it better down there than topside. And by the looks of things…Evan's one of them. _

But I can't tell Storm that. I couldn't.

She may know what it's like to look like a freak…but she doesn't know what it's like to look like a monster. 

But I can't tell her that. She needs to have some hope in order to get through this. 

_So what's one more lie? _

Ray lay back on his bed. _Evan never really felt he fit in here as an X-Man. I know…because I feel that way too. I wonder if I will be a real X-Man…or maybe…_

Ray shook his head and decided to ignore the future for now. He just wanted to sleep in a warm bed when he knew he had one. _If I've learned anything, it's to never take anything for granted. Even your friends…_

_I just hope Evan figures that out before its too late. _


End file.
